See It Through Her Eyes
by pacificbluegirl
Summary: Kim and Carlos are trapped when a building collapses. Can the others get to them before it’s too late and by seeing the love between two strangers, will Kim finally know how she feels about Jimmy?
1. Chapter 1

**I know I said I wouldn't post anything… but since I've been around for years now I thought it was time to try it out. So here it is, my first (posted) fanfic. It may be really confusing and just… weird!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Third Watch characters.**

**Timeline: After Jimmy proposing, before Jimmy leaving and Kim finding out she's pregnant.**

Chapter one

Kim and Carlos hadn't got a call in about an hour now… The calls helped Kim take her mind off the whole Jimmy-situation but just driving around the city without anything to do made it hard not to go over things in her head… over and over again.

Her and Jimmy were finding their way back to each other and Joey was thrilled, but it had happened before. And just as fast as they had grown close Jimmy had suddenly messed up, shattering her heart and trust in seconds.

_He's older now… a better man… He said it himself and so did I. He won't hurt me again, will he?...What if he hurts Joey again?_

She played with the ring on her finger.

_He's proved to me that I can trust him hasn't he? And he loves me… I know he does! This is what I want… right?_

She sighed as she realized that all she did was confuse herself more… But if she couldn't even figure out whether or not she trusted herself to trust him, was this marriage thing a good idea?

"Kim? I'm talking to you!" Carlos' annoyed voice suddenly broke through her troubled thoughts and she confused looked at him.

"What?"

"Here I am trying to talk to you and you're like 200 miles away, what's up with you? If you don't want to talk to me just say so… don't ignore me like that!"

"Carlos I… I'm, whatever…" She looked out the window. She could feel Carlos' eyes staring at her almost burning wholes in her neck. She turned towards him again.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Maybe Carlos' stupid thoughts could take her mind off of Jimmy?

"We're stopping at the bank… I need to get some of Kylie's adoption papers."

Kim frowned. "That's what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yeah, just wanted to let you know we're making a stop"

Kim shook her head. Here she thought she had managed to miss something deep and important...

_OOOOOOOOOO_

"Carlos… we're actually working, if we get a call-"

"Then we'll return to the bus and take the call… c'mon Kim I need to get these papers! Now please push the button for the elevator for me."

"What bank is in the basement anyways?" said Kim as she pushed the button. "Will our radio's work down there?"

"They're moving… between offices ore something, I don't know"

"So the only way down there is by these elevators? That's not very smart…"

"No, there are stairs as well on the other side of the building… why am I answering this anyway?" Carlos didn't care about the reason his bank had for being in the basement. He wanted his papers and that was it.

The elevator doors opened and Carlos and Kim as well as another man in a suit that had joined them stepped in.

Kim glanced at the man in the suit. He looked to be about her and Jimmy's age. She wondered if he had a wife and a kid… She thought about the risks he put himself through everyday… probably not that many. Did his wife watch him propel down buildings in that suit? Nope. Did his child worry about never seeing his or her daddy again when he went to work? No.

"We're getting off now!" said Carlos standing ready by the doors when the elevator stopped.

"You don't say?" smiled Kim. Carlos rolled his eyes.

The man in the suit stepped out and immediately turned to an "employees only" door and used his key card to open it. He disappeared.

The queues stretched almost all the way through the bank over to the elevators. Carlos sighed. This was going to take a while.

He placed himself at the end of the second queue. Kim joined Carlos in line. She took a look around the bank. In front of them stood a mother with a baby on one arm and a little boy, 4 or 5 years old maybe, in the other hand. The boy was complaining about standing there… he seemed anxious to get out of there.

Kim smiled to herself, the poor kid would be there for a while unless the 20- some people in front of him and his mother suddenly decided to leave.

Carlos sighed loudly and shifted back and forth… he looked quite similar to the young boy in front of them. The line next to them was just as long as their own. There were only two clerks working at the bank today, a mistake clearly.

"They know it's a bank holiday tomorrow, they have to! I mean they're working in a bank aren't they! What jackass decided to call in sick the day before a bank holiday… when half the city's here!" Carlos whined.

Kim ignored him. In the other queue next to them stood a blond young man. He smiled at her.

"What a little sunshine you got there!"

She smiled, immediately noticing his British accent.

She turned to Carlos. "See, people think you're grumpy!"

Slowly, the queue got shorter. But not fast enough for the little boy in front of them.

"Mom, can we go?" He asked tugging at her hand, letting himself fall back and forth, leaving his mom keeping his weight up with her hand, balancing the little baby on the other arm.

"Jonathan stop it, stand still!"

He twirled and stomped… he played with the hem of his shirt, trying desperately to enjoy himself in any way.

Kim was starting to feel like a bored kid herself and looked around the bank once more. She looked towards the benches in the back expecting an old man sleeping or something. Instead the 3 wooden benches in the back were filled with teens.

Mostly girls, were sitting almost on top of each other… talking, giggling and playing. On the floor in front of them sat a young woman, maybe 20 years old. She was wearing a blue t-shirt that on her back said 'Staff'. She smiled at the teenagers and said something to them that made them all laugh. Kim couldn't hear what it was.

An old lady was finished at the front of the queue and made her way back to the elevators. She was about to step into the elevator when a bunch of papers slipped through her hands and landed in a mess on the floor.

Kim walked over bending down to help the old lady collect the papers. A few of the teens came over and quickly started to gather the spread out documents as well.

"Thank you!" The old woman was very thankful since her old back kept her from bending down. Papers together again she stepped into the elevator.

As the doors closed Kim turned to the teenagers.

"Nice of you to help out!"

One of the girls nodded and was about to say something when suddenly the whole building shook. Dust from the ceiling rained down like snow and the word earthquake popped up in Kim's shocked and confused mind.

Someone screamed and with a loud crack the ceiling came crashing down.

Kim threw herself down on the floor and took the girls with her.

The blocks of cement came down all around them dividing the big room into two. Carlos and most of the people queuing ended up on one side of the blocks and Kim, teens and waiting people on the other side. Kim heard the mother cry out for her little boy, she heard screams of fear and pain and then, nothing. Complete silence seemed to consume the whole room.

Kim lay completely still almost afraid to move on the floor. She could feel the dust from the ceiling in her eyes, making them itch. She was on her stomach with on arm covering the back of her head and the other arm stretched out, resting on the back of one of the teens.

The room stayed in complete silence. She slowly moved a few toes… and then tried a few fingers. They all seemed to work fine.

Coughing lightly she slowly sat up looking around the room. Trying her neck she looked up discovering that the inner ceiling was what had crashed down around them. The cement that was the floor on the ground floor was cracked but still intact above them.

How the hell had this just happened?

All around her people were slowly trying to move toes and fingers, most of them finding everything to be in order… at least on her side of the big cement blocks dividing the room. The other side she couldn't even see. A big wall of debris had in a few seconds, that felt like hours, settled itself between her and Carlos.

She herself had a minor cut on her left upper arm but that was it. As people found the ability to move they also discovered their ability to talk again and suddenly the room was filled with cries and calls for family members and friends. Kim realized that many of the people around her had family or friends on the other side.

"Carlos!" She called. No answer… for all she knew, everyone on that side could have been crushed.

She walked around the room lifting small blocks and debris off of people helping out the best way she could.

She saw many of the teens slowly making their way back to the benches staring at something. Kim frowned and walked over to them. She followed their gazes and her eyes landed on the young woman with the staff t-shirt. On her knees the young brunette slowly crawled over to the blocks. She put a hand on one of the blocks and sat there completely still for what seemed like an eternity.

"Susanne?" One of the girls called.

"Han var här… alldeles nyss" cried the young woman suddenly. Kim couldn't understand what she said. She turned to the girl who had called out for the young woman.

"Swedish," She said looking at Kim.

"What's she saying?" asked Kim looking at the woman again.

"She wants to know where he is…" the girl stated.

"Who?"

"James"

**So that was the first chapter. If you want me to continue let me know! Any bad spelling or weird grammar? let me know as well… I would love to be a native speaker but that's not the case (I just got another email from a girl from… Florida somewhere I think wondering if we really don't have penguins walking around in Sweden, and we really, really don't)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'd like to think that Doc never went crazy and threatened people with a gun, so even though it's not true to the timeline he's still in there, as sane as ever.**

**FireFly: That James-Jimmy thing never crossed my mind actually ;) That would have been a cool twist though.**

**And yes, Carlos has a safety box at the bank where he keeps his papers concerning Kylie.**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this so far! It means a lot to me, it really really does.**

**Not so much happening in this chapter I'm afraid, just some facts and background that hopefully makes the whole thing a bit less confusing.**

Chapter 2

"James?" Kim asked confused. She didn't get an answer.

The girl started talking to the other teens in Swedish and Kim walked over to the young woman.

"Let me check you out, I'm a paramedic" she said sitting down next to her.

Tears were running down her cheeks. Kim looked into her green eyes and was struck by her beauty. She had brown hair down to her shoulders and her fringe tucked partly behind one of her ears. She was tanned and slim, her face really beautiful. She could be a model or an actress, thought Kim stuck in her own thoughts for a moment, just staring at the crying woman before her. Somehow the tears didn't fit in.

A man that had been sitting near by approached them. "She's bleeding," he said. The woman's teary eyes met Kim's. She lifted her arm to reveal a gash in her side.

"I need to take a look at that…" Kim said gently.

The girl that had talked to Kim before was suddenly at her side, shocked. "She's hurt?" Upon seeing the blood she looked devastated and Kim realized that these teens cared for the young woman a lot. How did they know each other?

Kim took the young Swedish brunette over to the benches where she laid her down on one of them. She lifted her shirt up taking a look at the hole in her side. It wasn't too bad but the bleeding needed to be stopped.

"Your name's Susanne?" Kim asked.

"Yes" she answered, her voice empty.

A read-headed boy appeared at her side with a towel.

"You probably need something to stop the bleeding with… keep pressure" he said handing her the towel. She smiled at him.

"Thank you"

"I want to be a doctor" he said.

"Then you can help me" Kim gave him a small smile. She pressed the towel to the woman's side and showed him what she wanted him to do. He nodded. He knew what to do.

"What's your name?" Kim asked him as he took over.

"Anton" He answered.

"I'm Kim"

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Around her people were crying… Everything had a thick layer of white dust and she could feel her eyes and lungs itch. Kim sat, back towards the back wall next to 23 other people, she had counted. Opposite from her, backs to the big blocks sat another 15 people. Then of course there was the middle-aged man in the corner with the big block of cement on his back. He'd been crushed immediately, just like the woman and the older man that still remained in the middle of their half of the room. Kim hadn't even tried to move them.

It had now been an hour since the roof had fallen in on them and about 50 minutes since she for about the 5th time had tried her radio. It didn't work down there.

Some of the teen boys were together with a few others trying to move some of the blocks but it didn't seem to work. Some of the blocks couldn't be moved since that could cause a domino effect, with other blocks coming down. Someone would get hurt.

Kim couldn't for her life understand why they hadn't received any help yet. A building had collapsed for heavens sake, someone had to notice!

She didn't know what to do. She had introduced herself to the group of people keeping her company letting them all know she was a paramedic and that they would get help by the police and fire department, all they needed to do was stay calm and help each other in the best way they could… it had almost been an hour since then and she could see that the crowd was starting to doubt her, she couldn't blame them.

Could something else come crashing down from the ceiling? She had assumed that they were out of danger, but what if that wasn't the case? In her shocked state she hadn't even thought about the possibility that she may never see Joey or Jimmy again. The situation was just so absurd that she hadn't taken it all in yet. She had pushed her fear into the back of her mind and worked to keep her preoccupied. She helped the people around her in the way she was trained to. This way she didn't have to stop and think about how she felt. Now just like in the bus earlier when the calls suddenly stopped coming she was stuck with her own thoughts and feelings. She didn't like it.

"Are we getting help?" one of the Swedish girls asked sitting down next to her.

"Who's this James person?" Kim asked glancing at Susanne who was now calm enough to sit on the bench, keeping pressure on her own wound, sipping at a water bottle.

"He's our local leader… well not very local at the moment" the girl, named Katja, smiled at herself. "He's British"

Kim immediately remembered the blond young man in the other queue talking to her with his charming accent. She nodded. Yeah she knew who he was.

"Boyfriend?" Kim asked now. Susanne seemed to be really upset about not knowing if he was okay.

Katja put her long, straight, light brown hair up in a loose ponytail and thought about that for a moment. She looked over at Susanne as if to see if she could hear them.

"They love each other" she looked sad.

"So they're together?" Kim, for some reason wanted to know more about Susanne.

"I didn't say that" Katja said, moving, trying to find a more comfortable position on the dusty floor. "They've only known each other for about a month and I don't think they dare look into why they constantly want to be together in case they would see what everyone else sees, that they're perfect for each other."

Kim stared at her dusty hands. _If Susanne's feeling so much, how can she ignore it like that? You love somebody; can it get any simpler than that? _

_0000000000000000000000000_

"Hey Doc!" Bosco ran up the stairs entering the firehouse-kitchen. "Doc?"

Doc sat in front of the TV, trying to solve a crossword puzzle. No calls, no paperwork.

"In here Bosco" he said, putting the puzzle down on the table in front of him. "What's going on?"

"We were called to a office-complex down on Lenox Avenue and found Adam-55, without the medics, just the bus. The building has partly collapsed for some reason and people just assumed that the ambulance standing outside had been called there, but it's empty."

"What?" Doc looked confused. "Kim and Carlos are in that bus… are you sure they're not there?"

"Positive"

Just then the call for fire engine 55 to back engine 33 up at the site came. Jimmy, DK, Billy and the others came rushing down the stairs.

"Did you call it in to central? That they were missing?" Doc asked grabbing his coat.

"No, we wanted to check with you. So you don't know where they are? They're not having lunch or something?" Bosco knew that it sounded unlikely but had to ask.

"No… no Kim would've called that in. Are you going back there?"

"Yeah, me and Yokas. Do you want a ride?"

"Yes, thanks"

Doc contacted central and just like he first had thought there hadn't been a word from Kim or Carlos in about an hour.

"Could they be inside?" asked Yokas as they drove through the busy city.

"I have no idea" sighed Doc. _This is going to be a long day…_he thought.

0000000000000000000000

When Kim first heard the approaching sirens she realized that there had been sirens up on the street for a long time now… these we're just more sirens… more people, help.

"Am I the only one hearing that?" she almost whispered, afraid that if she talked to loudly the sound of the sirens would drown and disappear.

Around her people now hushed and sat completely still concentrating on the sound. Kim received a few nods.

"Why aren't they helping us?" a woman asked angrily.

"Yes, they must know we're down here!" called a man to Kim's left side.

"Listen people I know that this is frustrating but I know that they're working very hard and there's a reason they're still up there and-" she was cut short.

One of the teenage boys called for attention, working harder on removing one of the blocks.

"Help me! Susanne vi har hittat ett hål! Come on, someone please help me!" He worked frantically on removing the big block. The teens, and a few others rushed to his side while Kim stood in shock just watching them.

A few seconds later they all stood in shock. No one said anything. It was only a tiny whole in the wall and much couldn't fit through it…

0000000000000000000000000

"What do you mean Kim's in there!" Jimmy stared at Doc.

_What did he mean? That the mother of Jimmy's child could have been crushed to death about an hour earlier? Yeah, maybe that was it._

Doc shrugged. Jimmy stormed off he picked the first person he was that wasn't one of his own men and decided that this person was in charge.

"We're going in now!"

Lucky for him he'd picked the right man. "No. We don't know what caused the collapse in the first place. I'm not letting anyone in until we know if the building's safe."

_Breathe Jimmy, breathe… screw breathing… I'm a firefighter not breathing is what I do best!_

"Safe! Would we be here if the building was safe? Is a building on fire safe? No! But we're in there anyway! It's what we do!" Jimmy couldn't admit to himself just how worried he was about Kim, not just yet so he let the feelings come out as harsh words instead. It worked great!

"We're _not _going in yet Doherty! We don't even know if anyone down there's alive. We need to do this the right way"

"The right way…" Jimmy muttered angrily… this man obviously knew nothing about right and wrong. Images of Alex on top of that car popped up in his desperate mind. Did she know what was right or wrong?

_Sometimes right is wrong and wrong is right_ Jimmy thought as he returned to his confused, grounded men.

TBC

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**I've been to New York many times but still just making the address up… so just play along if it's really weird : )**

**That was that, if you still want me to continue, let me know! There will probably be another 2 chapters to this but not much more than that I don't want to make it too long.**

**So why all these other people, you're wondering… well I'll let you know… I'll let you know... **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this story for a long time, hopefully the next chapter will be up really soon. I appreciate your reviews! Feedback is always great, so a big thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Third Watch characters.**

Chapter 3

"Carlos?" The call came out before Kim was aware of what she was thinking. The boy that had called out to all of them kneeled in front of the tiny whole. Kim's feet felt heavy and she had to fight against herself all the way over to the gathering.

"Carlos?" she called out again.

"Mattias help me!" The two boys continued to dig with their bare hands to make the opening

bigger.

"Stop!" someone suddenly shouted from the other side "It's going to fall! Hold it!"

Kim fell to her knees beside Mattias and Andreas. She reached out, in to the whole in the wall.

ooOOoOoOOooOOooOoOoOooOo

"What's going on?" Asked Billy confused.

"They're not letting us in… Kim is in there! Carlos is as well… this is insane!" His men could see the worry in his eyes.

"But Jimmy maybe that's wise, I'm sure they know-" D.K tried to reason with his friend but Jimmy cut him short.

"They know absolutely nothing! People need our help! I'm going in!" He had made his mind up. "Think about Alex!"

Billy and D.K looked at each other confused.

"Well if you're going so are we," sighed Billy and D.K nodded.

They went around the corner to the side entrance where Sully stood looking just as happy as usual.

"We're just…" Jimmy walked past him.

"Hey stop! What are you doing? Is it clear for you to go in now?" Sully asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Wife!" Jimmy called entering the building… "Ex…" followed a couple of seconds later.

D.K shook his head, following the mad and worried firefighter inside.

Sully couldn't have cared less and just shrugged. _I wanna go home…_

The lobby looked like nothing they had seen before. The floor had cracks, going across the whole room. The inner walls were pulverised.

Jimmy ignored it and made his way over to the elevators knowing that Kim and the others were below him. He turned around seeing DK and Billy making their way across the room.

"I guess this is our way down" Jimmy stated.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

She desperately wanted to close her eyes but she forced them to stay open. When her fingertips felt his she wanted to cry. He grabbed her hand and she heard his voice for the first time in what seemed as an eternity.

"Kim, you okay?" she squeezed his hand as hard as she could, speechless. She took a deep breath and bent down looking through the hole… she never thought she'd ever be so happy about seeing Carlos' face. He smiled at her as their eyes met.

"They'll come for us anytime now…" he said, still looking her straight in the eye and it hit Kim that he tried to comfort her knowing she'd be worried about never seeing Joey and Jimmy again. She often forgot that Carlos knew her as well as anyone… he just didn't show it that often. She cleared her throat.

"Yeah… they better…" Suddenly aware of everyone else around her she quickly moved on. "How's your side?" She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer though.

He sighed. "I've done my best… I really have. Some need to get out of here now, others are fine but many… well what can you do?" His eyes were sad.

"Pretty bad, huh?"

"Yeah to say the least, about half on this side are gone… over there?" he looked at her hoping she had good news.

"We got lucky… most of us are fine." She felt a hand on her shoulder. Susanne looked at Kim, her eyes for the first time since the collapse full of hope. Kim nodded.

"Hey Carlos, is the British man alright? Blonde, young…?"

Carlos' eyes widened "So his girl is alright? And his students?"

"Yes they're fine but they wanna know about him"

"He's…" Carlos took a deep breath.

OoOOOOOOOoOoOoOoOOOOOoOOoO

After making their way down through the elevator shaft Jimmy and his men met up with the still-standing elevator. The wires were cut.

"Let's hope this is where the elevator was at the time of the collapse…" Jimmy did not want to find the mother of his child dead in that elevator. They were finally back on track and he knew they could make things work this time… and not just work, things would be great if they were just given a chance. While Jimmy, DK and Walsh had been working on getting in through the elevator doors they of course had been caught but the building had been cleared for them to enter by then and even though Jimmy knew he'd get punished for not obeying orders once this was over he refused to give up now, he was going down there and that was that!

Billy slowly opened the door in the elevator ceiling and the three men gasped at what they found looking down into it.

The old woman lay with her body in a funny angle on the floor. Her face was fixed in a terrified look and papers were thrown everywhere. It was a mess, a mess with an old, dead lady in the middle.

_Damn it! _Thought Jimmy looking up through the shaft.

"Hey!" He called to the firefighter up on the ground floor. "We have a woman down here, we need to get her up."

Jimmy jumped down through the small door and bent down by the old woman to feel for a pulse. He looked up, and shook his head, no she was long gone. He went over to the elevator doors and froze for a second. If only he could get through… then he'd be out there… where Kim was, right? He was going to see her and things would be alright… wouldn't they? Instead of keeping to these positive thoughts about reunion his mind started to wander.

When I tell him should Kim's mom be there as well? I should probably tell her first though, so that she knows and can help me console Joey… but she'll be crushed… she won't be able to comfort her grandson, her own daughter have just been crushed to death by a building…

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud to his right, and then another one to his left. DK and Billy had joined him in the elevator.

"Hey, Jimmy, it's getting a bit crowded, what do you say we crack this open?" DK looked at him a gloved hand resting on the doors, knowing Jimmy's mind was a hundred miles away.

OoOoooOoOoOOOOoOoOoOoOoOo

"He's what!" Susanne pushed her way between the wall and Kim, staring at Carlos through the small hole, with wide eyes.

She wanted to know if James was alright, and now! She trusted him with her life and without him she wasn't sure if she trusted her with her life… From the moment the two of them met, a little over 3 weeks ago she knew that he was amazing. He could make her feel things her boyfriend at home in Stockholm didn't even come close to, just by looking at her. She couldn't stop smiling around him and he kept the students laughing 24-7. If something had happened to him her heart would be torn in to tiny pieces… he had to be alright!

"….Susie?"

Tears started to trickle down her cheeks when she heard his voice. It was his voice! It was him… The teens looked at each other… it was his voice but it held non of that over excitement or overflowing energy that always drove them nuts and kept them happy at the same time, that his voice always held. They often joked about him seeing a giant chocolate ice cream at every street corner since he always half ran half bounced wherever they were going, always full of energy. The sun always seemed to shine on him but where was it now?

Kim suddenly realized that she had tears running down her cheeks as well. She had recognized the young mans voice when he spoke… he'd spoken to her earlier and it wasn't quite the same… she knew something was wrong. She thought about what Katja had told her… _James and Susanne love each other but it doesn't mean they're together_… it was so sad that all she could do was cry harder. Even her, a complete stranger could see in Susanne's eyes how much she loved this man… and still Susanne didn't seem to be able to see it herself.

_Or what if she did?_ Thought Kim, her heart dropping. _What if she would destroy the world for this guy and knows it? Maybe it's just scary, maybe it's so scary that she imagine problems and obstacles just so that she won't risk getting hurt… or hurt others?_

"But it's worth it!"

Susanne turned and stared at her, waiting for Carlos to come back.

Kim looked at her a bit embarrassed. _Did I just say that out loud?_

OooOoOoOoOoOOOoOOoOOoOoOo

**TBC…**

**So what do you think? Should I keep going? **

**I really need to figure out why I always post new chapters or stories after midnight… especially now when winter break's over… this is a bad habit! It's now 3.45 am… I should be asleep! (and according to my mother: finnish that paper I have to hand in monday morning...)**


	4. Chapter 4

I just can't give this one up. I need to update this and give it a proper ending. I owe you guys that much and this fic means a lot to me. I'm really thankful for the reviews I've gotten for this. When it comes to my little British man and his injuries… well I know "this person" in real life and if he knew what I've done to him he'd be pissed at me :P But I guess you all including him are about to find out...

Well I'm just going to pick up where I left off….

OOOoooOoooOoooOooOooOOOoOOoOOOoOoO

The following seconds seemed to pass in slow-motion for them all.

Jimmy, DK and Walsh was still stuck in the elevator waiting for a word on how to open the elevator doors…

_Man, could this go any slower?_ Jimmy though sighing loudly. Billy placed his right hand on his friends shoulder in a supporting manner. Jimmy looked at him and then at DK and nodded… yes, you have my back and I have yours, no matter what. He just wished with every fibre of his body that this "matter" would have nothing to do with the death of his ex wife… _Please… let her be okay… _

OoOOOOoOooOOOOOOoOooooO

Anton and the other teens sat in silence wishing this all to stop… they wanted to be back in England… or even Sweden. They wanted Susanne to smile and laugh at them… dancing at the bar disk. They wanted James to chase them around threatening to throw chocolate ice cream in their faces… Katja took Emma's hand. They glanced at each other and then turned their gazes towards Susanne…

Susanne, James… James, Susanne… could one of them live without the other?

Kim didn't know them but thought that they probably couldn't… She thought of her years without Jimmy. She had survived, but had she lived? _No_, she thought… _That night I found out about Jimmy and Melanie my life stopped. I was lost and I clung desperately to what was left of life as I knew it… work, Bobby and Joey. _

Bobby… it had actually been a while since she had thought of him now… really _thought of_ him. Sure he had been on her mind, he always was but it had been more as a comforting thought than painful memories… _The way he would want it to be, _she thought… Comfort, not pain. Bobby was never much for causing her pain. Jimmy was… he was… he was great at the pain thing… he'd done it so many times.

Kim looked at the young woman in front of her. The woman with the tear streaked face, down on her knees on the dusty floor, desperate to know what was wrong with her colleague… oh yes, she was definitely in pain. So maybe that was it then? Maybe that extra spark that meant love in that tingling, priceless, never old way needed some pain?

She almost smiled when she thought of the conversation she and Joey had this morning.

_7.32 am _

"_Why do I have to go to school at all?" _

_She sat beside him on the couch and turned off the TV with the remote. She kissed his cheek and smiled at him._

"_What's the best part of school?" she asked. _

_He thought about it for a while. "Winter and summer break?" He grinned. _

_Kim laughed at him. "Well if you didn't go to school it wouldn't be so fun with winter and summer break now would it?"_

Maybe that's what her life would be like without Jimmy and the pain he stood for… a never ending winter break. _You need the downs in life to recognize the ups,_ Kim thought. Bobby had been the loving friend that'd tried to even the in-betweens out as much as he could and she'd loved him for it… but whether or not she liked the smooth and even in-betweens he was gone now and she knew she'd never get a friend like that again. Not with losing trust in her sister. Not with Alex being dead.

Kim looked around the room again. She thought that everyone in there probably had, at least once while being stuck in there, promised themselves to live a better life if they made it through… to do those things they'd always dreamed about doing, to say that thing they've always wanted to say. To take that big chance…

_If you want to win, you have to put something at stake_, Kim confessed to herself. She brought her hand to her face and kissed the engagement ring on her finger and promised to put one of the most fragile and valuable things she had at stake. Her heart. Ups and downs she thought sighing. She loved the ups enough to risk a few downs.

OooOOooOOOoOooOOooOOoOo

Carlos looked at the blood-soaked man on the floor beside him. His dark blond hair was damp with sweat. His blue eyes where foggy and tired. Carlos was amazed by the fact that the young man hadn't passed out since he woke up the first time, about 30 minutes after the roof fell in. He looked exhausted but kept saying he'd sleep when he was back at his hotel room. The comment had made some of the women in the room laugh… _a real charmer,_ thought Carlos, _without a clue on just how serious his injury is._

Truth was, James knew he was hurt really bad but him worrying himself or others about it wouldn't help any of them. He'd concentrate on the whole thing, including the shooting pain in his shoulder that made him see flashes before his eyes when he knew Susanne and his students were okay and they were all out of this damn bank.

Through the hole in the wall of debris he held Susie's hand in his. She wanted to know if he was okay. She asked again and again if he was alright. Him, in a strained voice, telling her he was fine wasn't good enough for her.

"James… what's wrong?" She asked. Her tone was desperate and he could tell she was scared. He knew that tone. He also knew that she trusted him to calm her down and make her feel better like so many times before. He wasn't sure he could do that this time though.

His hand slowly moved up to his left shoulder. His fingers became wet and sticky with his own blood that had soaked through the white t-shirt Carlos had tried to stop the bleeding with. Letting his fingers continue to play with the shirt he looked Carlos straight in the eye. He needed Carlos to tell her this. He knew that Susie wouldn't settle with his version. By now she knew he'd hide how serious things were.

The young paramedic that by now had gotten to know the other young man rather well nodded and cleared his throat.

"Miss?"

"Yes?" came the shaky answer from the other side. Susie wanted to know what was going on with James.

OoOOOoooOOOOOooOOoo

By now, darkness had fallen over the city. Doc paced back and forth outside of the building. Him and Levine had taken the old lady from the elevator to the hospital. She wasn't much to work on so they just transported her to Mercy. They had now gotten back and there was still no word on his paramedics… or anyone else inside. A woman in her thirties sat on a bench nearby wrapped up in a blanket that Doc had given to her. She worked on the ground floor when the building collapsed and she'd been quite shaken up after being "chased across the floor by a growing crack" as she'd told them.

The police and fire department worked together in teams to evacuate the connecting buildings in case they were in any danger of collapsing as well. Bosco argued with someone a couple of feet away, wanting to know why no one knew what'd caused the collapse in the first place. Had they ruled out explosions of some kind he wondered…

"He sure wonders very loudly…" muttered Doc.

"You know him… he does everything loudly" Faith had walked up behind him. Doc gave her a look of disgust.

"I did not need to know that"

OOOooOOOOOooOOOOOooOoOoOOoooOOo

Jimmy felt like pacing but it was pretty much impossible in the small, crowded elevator. On the ground floor another firefighter popped his head out so that Jimmy could see him through the shaft.

"They're going to get someone from the company that installed the elevator to come down with some sort of key that opens the doors when the elevator breaks down. The janitor is missing."

"What's the ETA on this key-person?" Jimmy asked clearly annoyed.

"They're trying to track him down as we speak"

"There has to be another way to get these doors open!" D.K shouted up to the firefighter above them.

"We don't want to risk hurting anyone on the other side but if we can't open them in a few minutes we'll have to make our way through some other way."

"I'd like that to be my way…" muttered Jimmy.

OOOoOoOoOoooOOooOOOooOOOoooOOo

"You didn't hear anything? Didn't see anything?" Ty tried to interview a witness but Bosco's loud 'wondering' seemed more interesting to the witness. "Hello?" Ty waved a hand in front of her eyes.

"oh… what was the question again?"

Immediately after asking him that question her eyes wandered over to Bosco again, together with her attention.

"I was asking if it's okay with you if I steal your cell phone" Ty sighed, stepping into her line of sight.

"Mmhmm… yeah…" with Ty in the way she leaned to her right so much that Ty thought she'd fall over.

He gave up.

oOooOOOooOOoOOooOOOOoOOOO

"James… um…" Carlos wasn't sure how to put it.

"He's what?" asked Susie holding James' hand so hard her knuckles turned white. All around her the students sat hopeful. He had to be alright! It was James…

James gave Carlos another look. He wanted him to just tell her.

"His left shoulder has been impaled by a reinforcement bar. He's lost a lot of blood and the fact that he hasn't passed out yet is… well it's hard to believe. The bar has to be removed at the hospital and as long as it's still in his shoulder I can't really seem to stop the bleeding."

"James?" One of the girls called from the other side. James took a deep breath to prevent his voice from shaking with pain. It didn't really work.

"Yes, love?"

"We'll get you out."

James gave Carlos a shaky smile.

"Yeah. I know. I'm fine."

Susanne rolled her eyes. "How can you be fine with a reinforcement bar in your shoulder?"

James didn't answer and Susanne felt his hand go limp in hers.

"James! James that's not funny…" She was near panic again. "James!"

"Carlos what's happening?" Kim called.

"He's out" Carlos called back, checking the young mans pulse. He kept an eye on the steady rise and fall of his chest. "He's losing too much blood. I can't stop the bleeding…"

Kim could hear the desperation in Carlos' voice.

"No!" Susanne called "you can't do this now! Wake up!"

She was screaming at him now. He had to come back. They had been through so much. She had to go back with him as well. Having him die on her under a building in NY was not an option.

OOOoOOOOoOooooOOOOooOOOOoooOoO

"Okay, so we'll…" Jimmy cut D.K short.

"Wait… listen"

"What?" asked Billy.

"Shut up and listen" said Jimmy leaning towards the elevator doors.

"Voices…" said D.K.

The three men looked at each other and then started to pound on the doors, hoping to catch the attention of whoever was on the other side.

OOoOoooOOOoOOOoOoOooOOOOoOOOoO

"He can see right through me…" Susanne sobbed. "He takes one look in my eyes and knows what I need… knows what I'm thinking and feeling. I've started this journey with him, I'm not ending it without him!"

Kim nodded. She understood. She looked at the ring on her finger again. Her and Jimmy had started their journey a long time ago and even if she wasn't ready to end it right now she knew she wanted him to be there when that day where to come.

Some of Susie's and James' students couldn't wait any longer now and continued to carefully remove debris from the high pile that divided the room. Kim was about to tell them to stop when something else caught her attention. What was that sound coming from the elevator?

"Can you guys hear that?" she almost whispered. Could the fire department have made their way down?

Nora, one of the Swedish teens made her way over to the elevators. There was definitely a pounding noise coming from inside the elevator. Kim stood frozen next to Susanne, who still clung to James' limp hand. They all watched Nora as she slowly reached out and tapped the metal door.

She turned the tapping into pounding as well. Her face lit up when it was answered from the other side.

"Someone's coming for us!" She looked as if she'd cry. "Susse they'll take James to the hospital. De kommer hjälpa honom."

Kim placed herself next to the girl by the elevator doors. Yes someone was on the other side.

She returned to the now growing hole in the wall of debris and called out for Carlos. "Someone's made their way down into the elevator. Hopefully they'll get to us soon. How's James?"

Carlos didn't answer right away. After what seemed like hours to both Susanne and Kim he finally called back to them.

"That someone better get their ass in here soon…"

OOOoOoOoooOoOOOooOOOooOOoOOO

Only one chapter left to this now. This chapter may be rubbish… I don't know.

Reinforcement bar is called "armeringsjärn" in Swedish but when I told my nosy friends about my plan to stick one in James' shoulder they didn't know what a reinforcement bar/armeringsjärn was so in case any of you don't know what a reinforcement bar looks like here's a picture: http/www3.lu.se/bygg/astronomi/P8310021.jpg it's not the best pic out there, I'm sure, but hopefully I'll get my message across anyway.

If you're still reading this feel free to review… I really appreciate it. Tell me whatever you want to…

And I'm sorry for not updating this in years.


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